I guess this is my day to crap all over Greg McGarity, but really, I can’t let this comment pass.

“I think if you ask Alabama and Tennessee, like us and Auburn, we’d like to retain the games,” McGarity said. “But does that work? What do the other 10 schools think? Those four schools like having those games but there’s no other East-West match-up that has that piece of history to it. So I don’t where that fits in.”

He said athletic directors will study “numerous models” when they meet.

“With 14 teams, not everybody will be happy,” he said. “Some will have a problem with everything. But we’ll make decisions based on the best situation of the league.”

In case you missed it, fans, the man just gave you the finger.

Let’s make sure you understand the context of that quote. The SEC was doing fine and dandy with a twelve-team arrangement. Nobody – at least if by “nobody”, you’re referring to the people who actually spend the money to watch the games – was screaming for the conference to get bigger. Expansion has happened because people like Mike Slive and Michael Adams have seen their peers in other conferences swinging bigger dicks with their broadcast contracts and aren’t happy about that.

And now that they’ve made a mess of the schedule, they’ve got to decide who takes the hit, the fans or “the league”. Yeah, like that’s a tough choice.

I’ve been a passionate college football fan for most of my life. I’ve blogged about my passion for more than five years now. But it’s gradually dawning on me that the people running the show are bound and determined to suck every drop of joy I get out of it. Step by step it’s happening before our eyes. College football is turning itself into NFL-lite. History and tradition aren’t money makers and thus are to be cast aside when they become nothing more than an inconvenience for those who see 90,000 people in the stands on a Saturday as little more than a bunch of wallets.

I’ll stick around for now, because they haven’t killed it yet. But I don’t trust these guys farther than I can throw ’em and you shouldn’t either. Don’t expect things to turn out well, because they don’t have your best interests at heart. I’m not sure if they ever did. They’re just more open about it now.

UPDATE:Paul suggests McGarity may have one of two target audiences in mind, the fans and…

ESPN/CBS as the Target — The SEC wants a major bump in revenues from ESPN/CBS in broadcasting rights. To get that bump, given that we expanded without a specific monetary promise of greater revenue* from our TV partners, they need some sort of leverage. The idea that the SEC desperately wants to avoid a 9 game schedule could be little more than a negotiating ploy. “We’re so willing to avoid an 9 game schedule, that we would be willing to give up UGA vs. AU and Bama vs. UT to stay where we are….unless you made us one hell of an offer.” So…you leak our fear that the AU series would be lost due to the emphasis we’re placing on the 8 game schedule.

Eh, maybe. But I don’t get why the supposedly preeminent football conference would have to negotiate so publicly and shrilly in order to get its way. If you’re trying to brace the fans over what you’re about to do, though…

Maybe McGarrity has forgotten some of the things that make Georgia different/unique after being stuck in the swamps of Gainesville for so long, but it is outrageous how flippant he almost is about the possibility of losing the annual Auburn game.

This should be a bright line, drawn in the sand, that UGA doesn’t sacrifice. Move the schools within divisions, point out the historic norm of infrequently playing out of division rivals, anything, but don’t give up this historic rivalry.

Or what exactly? We stop watching Georgia games? To have an ultimatum, you also have to have a consequence. Oklahoma and Nebraska have shown that there is no real consequence for a conference flippantly discarding a longstanding yearly rivalry. We’ll whine but in the end we’ll still be watching Georgia. McGarity gave fans the middle finger because he knows he can get away with it.

This. And sorry, Senator … I realize you are sincere with your opinion here, but just like the rest of us if UGA wins the national championship, I doubt we’ll be posting about how the Dawgs won in a messed up system. Until we win, sure.

Then you’d lose everything. Do I want UGA to drop the yearly with Auburn? Absolutely not. But I am pragmatic enough to realize that an ultimatum is an empty threat from any die hard fan. We’re not going to turn our backs on UGA because they drop Auburn from the yearly schedule, as much as we may hate that decision.

(And FWIW, I despise this attempt to position ourselves for a national title at all costs. I believe I’ve always been pretty vocal here and elsewhere that I’d like to see Georgia and the rest of Div-1A college football schedule 12 real lose-able games each and every year.)

Growing up in Columbus, the UGA-Auburn rivalry is deeply special to me, but it’s also special to all of us. To throw away the oldest rivalry in the south just because the SEC commissioners didn’t bother to have a plan is a travesty. The ACC’s expansionpalooza wasn’t this hamfisted, for crying out loud.

What’s with the hate all focused on McGarity? It’s not like he’s the one wielding any power over the process. Just because he the talking head doesn’t exactly mean that he’s in control of the process entirely or truly supports it for that matter

Gambling in Casablanca,I’m SHOCKED Sir. None of us are surprised that it is about the money and not the long term health of the game. We need to have the people in charge( the usual suspects) take a longer term view of what they are doing. If the short term money maximization costs us(the fans) great traditions like Ga/Aub,Ala/Tenn and potentially UGA/GT than they need to calculate how much of their long term base they lose as a result. Clearly they are not taking the long range view. Like you Senator I’m not going anywhere for now but if we lose either of the rivalry games(non-divisional) off the schedule I will reconsider my ticket purchases.

This reminds me of the guy who famously – later revised to infamously – who said GM’s business wasn’t making cars, it was making money. We’re sort of in the same boat – our conferences and largest schools are being led by people who focus entirely on the money part and take all that football stuff for granted.

I think this is where SEC fandom’s legendary passion actually hurts us. Easy to assume that nothing will ever dampen those fires.

This shouldn’t be surprising at all. He’s already cancelled a good OOC game and declared he has little to no interest in providing any future OOC games that excite the fans. He’s stated he has no interest in a nine-game league schedule despite the ease with which it would solve this issue. This is simply the next logical step. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Tech game is on the chopping block so that we could add a MAC school to the schedule.

I had a number of reasons why I dropped my season tickets last year, but having more craptacular games like this year’s OOC schedule was certainly part of the calculus.

The 2012 home games include Buffalo, Florida Atlantic, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech. Buffalo, Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern. Be still my beating heart. I can’t WAIT to spend my hard earned money on those three. Good thing we got teams like Oregon off the schedule so the scrubs can get some field time. McGarity needs to be careful. While he may be able to replace disenchanted season ticket holders, there are hotels, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, retailers and the like that will bear the financial consequences of his scheduling philosophy.

One small issue. If we go to 9 game schedule and keep GTU then every other year you are losing a home game (assuming UF stays in Jax). Would that not be worse for the hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc?

I don’t think so, no. My point is the quality of the experience is more important than the quantity of it. Even if I decide to show up for the crappy games I arrive just in time for kickoff and leave right away. When we are playing a quality opponent, we arrive early, rent hotel rooms and tailgate extensively. We eat at restaurants and buy stuff from local merchants. I think the entire town benefits from quality games and the entire town suffers when we play cupcakes. Usually, I give my tickets away for those games. Somebody’s butt is in the seat but Athens and the University don’t get near the economic return.

not to mention the lack of the other teams fanatical fanbase spending their money in Athens. There is a big difference in the number of overall people that come into town for a Clemson game than say a Buffalo game.

I said much the same last year after we dropped Oregon. Oh yeah, I know. Oregon wanted to cancel as well…yeah, and there is a bridge for sale in Brooklyn too.

There is a way to ensure we get that additional home game each year and McGarity knows what that is. Cutting Auburn-Georgia for the sake of keeping the likes of Buffalo, FAU and Georgia Southern is more than simply disgusting.

USC (the real one) went to 9 conference games and has not dropped Notre Dame and other decent teams and play nary an FCS team. Yeah, I know…the PAC 12 is not as tough as the SEC. But that excuse is weak because even in the SEC, the schedule is not always like the NFC East (look at ours last year and this).

Keep Auburn and add another conference game. Keep Tech and at least every 3-4 years try to schedule Clemson and/or something like Ohio State. BTW, does anyone seriously believe McGarity is going to keep the Ohio State games on the schedule?

Forget tOSU, we need to drop Clemson for 2013. If we go to a 9 game schedule and the new game we pick up is away to replace one of our OCC cupcakes then we would only have 5 home games that year (not counting UF in Jax).

We may be getting seven home games in 2012 but there aren’t five good ones in there. I’ll take quality over quantity. I am not interested in paying for bulk and I doubt the players have fond memories of whipping up on the likes of Coastal Carolina. Run Lindsay Run? David to Veron? Now THOSE everybody remembers. That’s worth paying for. I can get cupcakes at the bakery for a dollar.

I’ll play devil’s advocate. Sure, its in our interest to keep the Auburn game and it would be awful to lose it. However, other than the 4 teams mentioned above, nobody else in the conference cares about being locked into an annual game with a cross division opponent. Even when we were at 12 teams, the rest of the conference didn’t care about it and probably would have preferred to abandon it.

Another dagger to the heart. But, unfortunately, another completely correct call on your part. I long ago gave up on the NFL. I’d hate to have to quit on college football too. Soccer is pretty boring. Is lacrosse any fun to watch?

Just absolutely shameful if this happens. At this point, I would almost rather kick all 4 (Ark, USCe, TAMU, Mizzou) out, go back to a 10-team league with two 5-team divisions and a championship game, and dare the NCAA to do something about it rather than lose the South’s Oldest Rivalry, the 3rd Saturday in October, and LSU-Florida.

When the people who run the programs only care about the money, eventually the people who spend the money no longer care about the programs. I don’t mind giving up my Saturdays, spending a few hundred dollars for tix, food, travel, etc. so I can watch a great rivalry like GA/Auburn with all the tradition and history. I think twice about giving up my Saturday to watch UGA play Missouri or a bunch of out of conference scrubs. Eventually, the product will be dilluted enough that we’ll stop caring…especially as they continue to limit tailgating and a lot of the other traditions I have long associated with Gerogia games. A dove field and AM radio, even without Munson, is looking better and better.

I’ve missed one home game in over ten years and that was only because my alma mater was playing nearby. Of course, it wasn’t hard to give up my streak of home game attendance for a glorified scrimmage vs. Idaho State. The point isn’t that I’m a “superfan” – I’m not – I just happen to have access to season tickets and live in the area. Travel and price really aren’t an issue for me.

But I do enjoy staying home and watching games all day when the Dawgs are on the road.

I know changes have to be made in the name of progress, but enough is enough. In the last few years there have been so many changes made to the tailgating rules that it almost isn’t fun anymore. We used to watch games from the trestle, then we got married and had kids so we would tailgate at Aderholt or the physical plant. Now we buy a spot at a building across from the Methodist church downtown and my kids and older friends don’t want to go because we have to hike so far to get to Sanford. The only price we used to pay for tailgating was losing sleep by getting there early. The fun of the whole gameday experience is being bled out each passing year.

Agreed. Even those with good parking passes from ath assc are getting screwed because of the 7 a.m. Saturday limitation for setting up a tailgate. And they put that into motion because the tailgaters were “disrupting campus.” This year, while we were all sitting around at 6:45 a.m. waiting to set up our tailgates – lest we set up early and incur the wrath of campus police, tow trucks, and the dipshit parking czar driving around in his golf cart – we were treated to the loud and obnoxious construction across Hull St. So much for disrupting campus. Fucking sorry ass hypocrits.

Yeah, but how do you really feel, Puff? I know this agonizes you and feel that better service could be provided if the tailgaters formed a group to police the trashing by the few. The UGA powers that be will listen more readily to large lobbying groups. If no response, then get all of us nontailgaters involved to swell your ranks (and pull).

Hope things work better this year. Hate to admit that the buck is running us, but I’m afraid the Senator is right. If we all give a damn, we have plenty of time to organize for some of our enjoyment wishes for Georgia Football and that includes tailgating. Hope many can see it that way before we gum ourselves to death blogging our pain.

If the powers that be viewing 92,000 fans in Sanford stadium as wallets is bad, wait until they view them as nothing more than good background for the TV product. Nothing is sacred. They’ll take the hedges out if ESPN needs more space for their cameras.

I would recommend everyone who thinks that the Auburn game is important should pick up the phone and call Mr. McGarity’s office and leave a message with Sharon that keeping the Auburn game is very important.

(706) 542-9036 is the main number, just call and say you want to leave a message for Mr. McGarity and they will transfer you. Simple enough.

I am shocked, shocked I tell you to learn that ADs only care about money. Why, during my lifetime, Sanford Stadium has had several upper levels built, skyboxes added, enclosed the east end (cutting off the formerly free view for rail road track fans), added lights, and moved game times all over the map to accommodate television, but all of that was purely for fan enjoyment. ;)

You have burst my bubble Senator; it never occurred to me they were only in it for the money.

It’s a crap sandwich, but it’s still the tastiest crap sandwich there is available.

I’m going to predict that the great irony of the SEC expansion will be that the one thing Slive was chasing: money, won’t even materialize. I can see us getting stoned on a new TV deal and that when the dust settles every school is going to get less money after expansion than they did before. in other words this will turn out to be similar to a corporate merger that does nothing but kill shareholder value because management let egos get in the way of good business sense and end up screwing over their customers (us the fans) AND making less money. I have yet to see how much more financially each member of the SEC stands to gain by admitting A&M and Mizzou. If someone has the dollar projections for increased revenue I would LOVE to know.

So, kind of like the real estate bubble. Rapid, unbelievable growth, follwed by rapid, unbelievable recession. I don’t see how these TV contracts are sustainable. But then maybe that’s why the SEC inked a 15 year deal. I wonder, with the recent post season ratings drop, if ESPN is going to be willing to renegotiate as long a term.

The money is gonna be there. TIVO and On-Demand has guarenteed that. Sporting Events are about the only TV events, that we have to watch live now, we can TIVO our favorite shows and movies and then fast forward through the commercials, we can’t do this with live sporting events. The captive audience will only drive more advertiser dollars.

Rant, with deserved passion, but most are missing the Senator’s point. If it’s not McGarity, it’s whoever sits in his chair and all the other conference leaders who will chase the money. If UGA wins the SECCG and/or the MNC this year or in any year that does not have Auburn, GT, Clemson or whoever else is a fan favorite on the schedule, all will be forgiven. Think the Aubie’s care if they play us if their path back is funded…er…paved with easier home games?

You want top recruits, top facilities, top coaches, and trophies. Where the hell do you think this was headed? We howled after a 6 – 7 season, and now want a 9 game SEC schedule plus games with the likes of tOSU and Oregon? When you scream at everyone in the B-M complex about this, remember that Boom, Saban, Miles, and others are not so nearly inclined to take the tougher path with us.

“SkySuite seating capacity ranges from 18 seat boxes to 36 seat boxes. Each suite has a private restroom and is furnished 2 flat screen TVs, refrigerator, wet bar area, 2 lounge chairs, sofa, and credenza. All SkySuite guests enjoy a main food buffet in their suite, while a dessert buffet and coffee bar are served in the common area on each SkySuite level. ”
$480,000 to upgrade the furniture in 30 suites. That’s 16 grand per unit. Must be some sofa.

I don’t give a big rat’s ass what those coaches want. We are Georgia and lately we have failed to act like it. This is what comes with wanting a piece of chrystal over good college football competition. We need to pull up our drawers, act like men concerning hard fought Ls and embrace the UGA Football we became accustomed to under Dooley. Our cupcakes then were Michigan, UCLA, etc and there wasn’t any whineing.

Amen a thousand times. I am so sick of that Crystal Football BS. Yeah it would be great. But sorry, not at the cost of schedules like our home one this year. To say it sucks is the understatement of the year.

Bluto, I am frustrated as you are with this BS coming from these guys. However, just curious how your distaste for this conference expansion andjilted rivalries jibes with your dream of having four 16 team super conferences. Are you thinking the direction we are currently heading is not the same direction as your plan? Perhaps this is just an alternative route?

The bloom is off the lily. Our GM has been used to scheduling cupcakes for the FU lizards that will qualify them for championship play on the W/L scale. Remember he has a deep revenue of SC schools, including a marching military band, that he hasn’t thrown in yet. Although the Sit Adel hasn’t come up yet, never fear because it will (I defer to better memories than mine to conjure up the OOC cupcakes FU had after their “championship year”). This is what we wanted with our GM. Now you begin to read the price sticker. What worked for ole FU is being set up for us, embarrassingly so.

Not going to 9 games in conference is part of the “championship strategy”. Get ready to lie down with sheep for the privilege of entertaining an NC. It’s what FU did and we laughed at their schedule (until we gave them another game to help them along on their trip to an NC). Once again we look into the void (of competition) and see our reflection of what we wanted. Once again, dear Brutus, the enemy be us.

We should all demand a 9-conference schedule and let our GM know that we want to earn an NC, not back into it at any cost.

I dont care about playing cupcakes…If I have to pay for 2 cupcakes each year with my season tickets, it doesnt bother me. Me, ADGM, and CMR all think a couple of cupcakes on the schedule makes it easier to get to the title game and I am fine with “backing in” with an easy schedule…

I dont want to get rid of the Auburn game. Adding TAMU or Mizzou doesnt interest me in the least..They certainly dont make up for losing a rivalry game with Auburn.

Why anyone would want 9 SEC games and an OOC with Tech and tOSU or Clemson is beyond me. Give me 8 SEC games w/ Auburn, Tech and 3 cupcakes..

Why would anyone want 9 SEC games and an OOC with Tech and OSU and Clemson? Basically because that is exactly what it is supposed to be about. It is beyond me how some see the glass football as more important than the entire CFB experience…the one that has made it the greatest regular season in all of sports.

I don’t think DawgPhan is a football fan, he is just someone who wants to feel good about UGA, maybe at work, or with buddies in other parts of the country. No one who loves the game itself could care one twit about UGA’s home schedule. You are right Bob, might as well schedule all HS teams, and buy a trophy.

Can you believe that as an approach for a fan? Actually, I can now. I once thought UGA had damned good fans, people who were ethical, proud, competitive, and acted civilly when around other fans. The past 10 years have opened my eyes. Some of it was due to the internet and message boards, but it is also visible at games. I see a day in the near future where Sanford on game day will look like a bowl game or ACC Championship. There are sheep out there who will let the decision makers run all over them by watering down the product, but they will not fill the stadium especially when the economy gets bad, or we have weaker teams.

We want championships. No one from the SEC “backs into” a championship. Going through an SEC schedule means that championship was earned, whether or not the OOC games were tough. Give me all the cupcakes we can get our hands on. The SEC road is tough enough as it is. Who knows what would have transpired if we had played Louisville in Athens instead of BSU in Atlanta. Maybe we are looking at a 11-1, possibly 12-0 regular season.

Don’t give me this “You gotta beat the best to be the best” crap. No one believes that. You want championships for UGA. So do I. I don’t care how we get there (in terms of who we play during the season), I just want to get there and win.

While desiring a championship as much as the next guy, hefting a piece of glass not emblematic of competition turns my guts. I thought the same when FU hefted it and then won only the cupcakes the following year as the reigning NC. Building a house of cards to call yourself champion is bullshit and not worthy of our history at UGA. Patiently building a base to reign as a power for several years is my wish for team goals, not a one and done.

just curious if the folks that want murder’s row for a schedule actually head to the games each weekend. I get the wanting to be entertained if you are sitting on your couch, but not if you are pour money into the tank and hitting the road.

and not trying to make this into a “I am a better fan” thing, just curious if that is a common thread. I love a home game against a cream puff…lets you relax a little more at the tailgate. tickets are easier..I can bring someone new to show them the gameday…

A fan is a fan. Didn’t know they gave prizes for achievement when watching college football. I can remember the greatest number of injuries that knocked players out for several games following. One year we played both UAB and GSU and had more high ankle sprains, hip pointers, ankle turns, bruised lungs, shoulders,knees,etc than we could cope with in the SEC games surrounding. I remember kicking Clemsons ass at the beginning of the season with over a dozen players out for practice injuries and disciplinary reasons. All of our SEC schedule that year didn’t amount to a hill of beans when it came to player availability.

The fear of injury has no place in football based upon who you are playing. Shit happens and it ain’t all from SEC teams by a long shot. We take a break the week before our perceived toughest game, not because we think we will have more injuries the week before. Don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to play Bama again cause we owe them for a beatdown same as we put on Auburn last year. Respect SEC teams more than others because there ain’t no gimmes? Yes. Afraid to play because you may get more injuries from a tough team? Hell no.

I don’t think that “their blood, our guts” is something to compete for in fandom. A competitive schedule for my school to be unashamed of “Ws” doesn’t fit into that mold of fandom you are trying to form. I confess to the sin of being prideful of my University’s endeavors, academics or sports.

Football is war!
“In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy’s defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! – I hope I’ll be safe at home!”

No way. What makes college football special is the atmosphere. Fans and players aren’t in it at noon cupcake games. There’s nothing like tailgaiting all day for a rival afternoon/night game. Walking into the stadium with all your anticipation. It’s too much effort to get up there and sit through a cupcake.

You’ve got to have a balance of both, cupcakes and competition. The cupcakes are necessary not because you are trying to get the third stringers in there, that’s ridiculous, but because its much harder work to perfect fundamentals and systems when you’re getting your ass handed to you in a game. So you need the easier teams to work on your game, so to speak. But, you have to have the competition b/c of what Cojones rightly said. Tradition is supremely important, especially in institutions, so the powers that be, would be wise to find a way to keep these games. Thirty years ago, no one thought baseball would lose its grip on the national past time to the NFL!

Not that there will be any mass exodus if we (the SEC) lose long term rivalry games, but something tells me that somebody in this process understands that the popularity and rabid support for the SEC is BECAUSE of these games. Because of that, I believe they will protect the product and brand.

Georgia’s challenge is that we seem to carry more rivalries than anybody. 3 legit and universally recognized (Florida, Auburn, Tech). Others seem to have taken on that space despite not having the same history or regular cadence (Clemson, USCe, Tennessee).

This is what I was afraid of. The handwriting on the wall is clear, and it says: “It’s all about money. Tradition means nothing. Your favorite team will play Missouri every year instead of Auburn because that helps generate more television and licensing revenue, and we really don’t care what that means to the fans.” My favorite team playing in my favorite conference in my favorite sport–all that is going down the shitter. It’s just another team playing a series of games in just another sports “division” in just another sport. Well, maybe that will refocus us on academics and give me more free time on weekends.